


[Meta] Can Sirius Black Actually Apparate?

by cassie5squared



Series: Potter Meta: Thoughts on the Wizarding World [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-05-31
Packaged: 2018-11-07 10:02:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11056647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassie5squared/pseuds/cassie5squared
Summary: Taking a look at a theory that seems to explain a few things.





	[Meta] Can Sirius Black Actually Apparate?

**Author's Note:**

> Please be advised that all evidence for this is taken from the books, as the films made significant cinematic alterations to the procedure of Apparation as described in the books.

Sirius Black is definitely a very capable wizard in many ways, and even his time incarcerated among hundreds of Dementors didn't seem to diminish his abilities in any significant way. However, there is one thing that has bothered me for a while, and I've pinned it down here.

Is it possible he can't Apparate?

We never have any reference to him Apparating on his own that I can find. In the books he _swims_ from Azkaban to the British mainland, goes to Surrey, and then from there all the way to the Scottish Highlands, and he does it all on foot. Even as a dog that’s a hefty amount of travelling.

After he escapes Hogwarts he travels by Hippogriff, which is obviously as much for Buckbeak’s benefit as his own. But he never once seems to Apparate.

As a young man he was noted to do a lot of travelling on his beloved flying motorbike. He even used it to get from Peter’s hideout to Godric’s Hollow. Ths was a **life-or-death situation** and he didn’t use an **instantaneous** method of travel?

The only explanation I can think of is that he physically couldn’t do it.

It makes sense in a way when you think about it. There’s a certain mental discipline and focus that’s repeatedly said to be required for Apparation, and teen!Sirius seems like the type of person who’d have trouble with that sort of thing.

In his 6th year, when Apparation lessons begin, he was going through an **incredibly** difficult time; he’d run away from home and was dealing with the fallout from that, as well as whatever rifts to his friendships still needed patching up over the fallout of the issues from fifth year (the incredibly nasty prank involving Remus and Snape, specifically), and I don’t see him taking well to the need to be focused and disciplined when his default response to stress seems to be “rebel more”.

It does present an interesting thought about what if he had learned, though. Especially if he’d been able to do it on October 31st 1981. If he’d been able to get to Godric’s Hollow instantly on finding Peter missing rather than going by motorbike, he could well have beaten Voldemort there.

It could have made all the difference.


End file.
